Wearable Cooling Apparatus

ABSTRACT

A wearable cooling apparatus for cooling a person&#39;s body with ice packs includes a primary sleeve having walls that, together, define an interior space. The primary sleeve includes a closed first end blocking access to the interior space and defining an open second end configured to allow the ice packs to be inserted sequentially into the interior space. While the outer, upper, and lower primary sleeve walls may include insulation so as to resist a thermal energy transfer out of the interior area, the inner sleeve wall is not insulated and allows thermal transfer to the skin of a wearer. The primary sleeve includes a fastener for selective attachment to a garment. A plurality of auxiliary sleeves may be attached to the garment and worn on a person&#39;s torso. The primary sleeve may have an elongate configuration and include fasteners for use as a cooling belt apart from the garment.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application U.S. Ser. No. 62/203,030 filed Aug. 10, 2015 titled A Pocket Belt Containing Ice Packs To Cool The Body and which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to body cooling devices and, more particularly, to wearable cooling apparatus that is configured to receive cold packs sequentially and to allow cold temperatures to be conducted freely from one side intended to be in contact with a user's skin while resisting thermal losses in every other direction.

Overheating of a human body may be the result of excessive physical exertion or extreme temperatures. Excessive heat may also be the result of a physical or medical condition, such as hyperthermia, heat, heat exhaustion, menopause, and other heat related illnesses. For instance, hot flashes are feverish feelings experienced by women in menopause. There are several ways to lower body temperature, including resting in a cooled environment, eating ice chips, taking a cool shower or ice bath, and the like.

Although presumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing methods for lowering an excessively high body temperature are not convenient for a person who does not have time to isolate himself into a cool environment (i.e. to an outside laborer), or have opportunity to continuously maintain a cool beverage or ice chips, or to take a cold shower.

Therefore, it would be desirable to have a wearable cooling apparatus that a person can wear and receive a long lasting cool temperature against their overheated body. Further, it would be desirable to have a wearable cooling apparatus that can be worn as a cooling belt or full torso cooling garment. In addition, it would be desirable to have a wearable cooling apparatus that allows unfettered transfer of cooling thermal energy to a wearer's skin while inhibiting thermal losses in every other direction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A wearable cooling apparatus according to the present invention for cooling a person's body with ice packs when worn includes a primary sleeve having opposed inner and outer sleeve walls connected by upper and lower sleeve walls extending therebetween, respectively, that, together, define an interior space. The primary sleeve includes a closed first end blocking access into or out of the interior space and defining an open second end opposite the closed first end that is configured to allow the ice packs to be inserted sequentially into the interior space. While the outer, upper, and lower primary sleeve walls may include insulation so as to resist a thermal energy transfer out of the interior area, the inner sleeve wall is not insulated. The primary sleeve includes a fastener so as to be selectively attached to a garment. A plurality of auxiliary sleeves may be attached to the garment and worn on a person's torso. The primary sleeve may have an elongate configuration and include fasteners for use as a cooling belt apart from the garment.

Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a wearable cooling apparatus for cooling a person's body with ice packs when worn.

Another object of this invention is to provide a wearable cooling apparatus, as aforesaid, that may be worn about a user's torso or waist in order to reduce the user's body temperature.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a wearable cooling apparatus, as aforesaid, that is configured to promote thermal transfer of cold energy toward contact with a wear of the cooling apparatus while limiting thermal losses in other directions.

A further object of this invention is to provide a wearable cooling apparatus, as aforesaid, that is easy to use and inexpensive to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 a perspective view of a wearable cooling apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the wearable cooling apparatus as in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3a is a sectional view taken along line 3 a-3 a of FIG. 2;

FIG. 3b is an isolated view on an enlarged scale taken from FIG. 3 a;

FIG. 3c is an isolated view on an enlarged scale taken from FIG. 3 a;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the wearable cooling apparatus as in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5a is a perspective view of the primary sleeve removed from the wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 1;

FIG. 5b is a back view of the primary sleeve as in FIG. 5 a;

FIG. 6a is a side view of the primary sleeve as in FIG. 5 a;

FIG. 6b is an end view of the primary sleeve as in FIG. 5 a;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the primary sleeve as in FIG. 5a with opposed ends coupled together;

FIG. 8a is a top view of the primary sleeve as in FIG. 7;

FIG. 8b is a side view of the primary sleeve as in FIG. 8 a;

FIG. 9a is a perspective view of an ice pack removed from the primary sleeve;

FIG. 9b is a side view of the ice pack as in FIG. 9 a;

FIG. 9c is an end view of an ice pack the ice pack as in FIG. 9a ; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an insulation member as in FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A wearable cooling apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10 of the accompanying drawings. The wearable cooling apparatus 10 includes a primary sleeve 20, a plurality of auxiliary sleeves 44, and a garment 40 to which the primary and auxiliary sleeves may be selectively attached and worn on a person's torso for cooling the same via ice packs 12 received sequentially into respective sleeves.

The primary sleeve 20 includes an inner primary sleeve wall 22 and an outer primary sleeve wall 24 opposed from and generally parallel to the inner primary sleeve wall 22. The primary sleeve 20 includes an upper primary sleeve wall 23 and a lower primary sleeve wall 25 extending between respective inner and outer primary sleeve walls. Together, the walls are configured to define an interior space capable of receiving a plurality of portable ice packs as will be described more fully later.

The primary sleeve 20 includes a closed first end 26, which may also be referred to as a first end wall, that is configured to block access into or out of the interior space. Conversely, the primary sleeve 20 defines an open second end 28 opposite the closed first end 26 that is configured to allow access into or out of the interior space. The interior space defined by respective walls has a dimension complementary to a dimension of a portable ice pack 12 such that a plurality of the ice packs 12 may be selectively inserted through the open second end sequentially (i.e. end-to-end) so as to fill the entire interior space, if desired.

The primary sleeve 20 is efficient in cooling a person's skin but without losing its cooling energy because of selective positioning of insulation members. More particularly, an outer insulation member 30 is positioned inwardly adjacent the outer primary sleeve wall 24 and is configured to resist transfer of thermal energy. In other words, the outer insulation member 30 inhibits the loss of coldness from the cold packs 12 situated in the interior space of the primary sleeve 20. Similarly, an upper insulation member 32 may be positioned inwardly adjacent the upper primary sleeve wall 23 and configured to resist conduction of thermal energy therethrough. Still further, a lower insulation member may be positioned inwardly adjacent the lower primary sleeve wall 25 and configured to resist conduction of thermal energy therethrough.

By contrast, the inner primary sleeve wall 22 includes no insulation member and, as a result, intentionally allows the cold temperature energy of the ice packs 12 to be conducted and transferred through the inner primary sleeve wall. In this configuration, a person wearing the primary sleeve 20 when loaded with ice packs receives faster and more efficient cooling of their skin via the inner primary sleeve wall 22 while the cold energy is not lost through the other walls.

The primary sleeve 20 may include a fastener, such as a hook and loop fastener 34, situated on an outer surface of the inner wall 22 that is configured to attach the primary sleeve 20 to a textile material, such as user's shirt, pants, or the like. The primary sleeve 20 may have a length sufficient to wrap completely around and be worn about the waist of a person. The fastener 34 is configured to provide enhanced grip upon any garment being worn by the person. In addition, the primary sleeve 20 may include a first fastener 36 operatively coupled to the closed first end 26 thereof and a second fastener 38 proximate the open second end 28. The first and second fasteners are complementary to one another and may be selectively and releasably coupled together so that the primary sleeve 20 may be worn in the nature of a cooling belt about a person's waist. The first fastener 36 and second fastener 38 may be taken from the group that includes buckles, clasps, hook and loop fasteners, buttons, snaps, and magnets.

In another aspect of the invention, the wearable cooling apparatus 10 includes a specialty garment 40 for use in cooperation with the primary sleeve 20. More particularly, garment 40 may be a shirt, a sleeveless shirt, a sleeveless vest, undergarment, or the like that is wearable on the torso of a person. The garment 40 may include a connection member 42 (such as a complementary hook or loop material) on an inner surface that is complementary to the hook and loop fastener 34 on the inner primary sleeve wall 22 described above such that the primary sleeve 20 is releasably and selectively coupled to the garment 40 (FIG. 1). The primary sleeve 20, therefore, may be used with the garment 40 or independent of the garment 40 when released therefrom.

Further, a plurality of auxiliary sleeves 44 may be coupled to inner surfaces of the garment 40 to enhance the cooling effect thereof. Each auxiliary sleeve 44 has a configuration substantially similar to that of the primary sleeve 20 except as specifically noted below. Each auxiliary sleeve 44 includes an inner auxiliary sleeve wall 46 opposite an outer auxiliary sleeve wall 48, the inner and outer auxiliary sleeve walls being connected by upper 55 and lower 57 auxiliary sleeve walls, respectively. Also included are auxiliary insulation members 50 and 52. The auxiliary sleeves 44 also include an auxiliary closed end 54 and auxiliary open end 56 that function as described previously. Accordingly, each auxiliary sleeve 44 may be loaded sequentially with cold packs 12 for enhanced cooling effect.

In addition, the garment 40 may include at least one and preferably a plurality of attachment members 58 so that the garment 40 may be fastened more securely to a person's torso. More particularly, each attachment member may be a fastener taken from the group that includes straps having complementary hook and loop fasteners, latches, buckles, buttons, and the like.

In use, the primary sleeve 20 may be prepared for use. Specifically, a plurality of portable ice packs 12 may be sequentially inserted through the closed second end 28 into the interior space of the primary sleeve 20. Then, the primary sleeve 20 may be wrapped around a person's waist and coupled like a belt. Alternatively, the primary sleeve 20 may be attached to the torso garment 40 as described above, the garment 40 also having auxiliary sleeves 44 that may also be loaded with ice packs 12 for enhanced cooling effect on a wearer.

It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof. 

1. A wearable cooling apparatus for cooling a person's body with ice packs when worn, said cooling apparatus, comprising: a primary sleeve having opposed inner and outer primary sleeve walls connected by upper and lower primary sleeve walls extending therebetween, respectively, that, together, define an interior space; wherein said primary sleeve includes a closed first end blocking access into or out of said interior space and defining an open second end opposite said closed first end that is configured to allow the ice packs to be inserted sequentially into said interior space.
 2. The wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said outer primary sleeve wall includes an outer insulation member 30 that resists transfer of thermal energy.
 3. The wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 2, wherein said upper primary sleeve wall include an upper insulation member that resists transfer of thermal energy.
 4. The wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 3, wherein said lower primary sleeve wall includes a lower insulation member that resists transfer of thermal energy.
 5. The wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 4, wherein said inner primary sleeve wall is not insulated.
 6. The wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 1, comprising a hook and loop fastener coupled to an outer surface of said inner primary sleeve wall that is configured so that said primary sleeve is selectively attached to a textile material.
 7. The wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 1, further comprising: a garment selectively wearable on the torso of a person; a hook and loop fastener coupled to an outer surface of said inner primary sleeve wall that is configured so that said primary sleeve is selectively attached to an inner surface of said garment.v
 8. The wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 5, further comprising: a garment wearable on the torso of a person; a hook and loop fastener coupled to an outer surface of said inner primary sleeve wall that is configured so that said primary sleeve is selectively attached to an inside surface said garment.
 9. The wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 1, wherein: said primary sleeve includes a first fastener operatively coupled to said first end of said primary sleeve and a second fastener operatively coupled to said second end of said primary sleeve; and said first fastener is releasably coupled to said second fastener such that said primary sleeve is selectively wearable around a waist of a person.
 10. The wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 5, wherein: said primary sleeve includes a first fastener operatively coupled to said first end of said primary sleeve and a second fastener operatively coupled to said second end of said primary sleeve; and said first fastener is releasably coupled to said second fastener such that said primary sleeve is selectively wearable around the waist of a person independent of said garment.
 11. The wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 8, wherein: said primary sleeve includes a first fastener operatively coupled to said first end of said primary sleeve and a second fastener operatively coupled to said second end of said primary sleeve; said first fastener is releasably coupled to said second fastener such that said primary sleeve is selectively wearable around the waist of a person when selectively released from said garment.
 12. The wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 8, further comprising: a plurality of auxiliary sleeves coupled to said garment, each auxiliary sleeve having opposed inner and outer auxiliary sleeve walls connected by upper and lower auxiliary sleeve walls extending therebetween, respectively, that, together, define an interior space; wherein said auxiliary sleeve includes a closed first end blocking access into or out of said interior space and defining an open second end opposite said closed first end that is configured to allow the ice packs to be inserted sequentially into said interior space.
 13. The wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 8, wherein said garment is one of a sleeveless vest, shirt, or undergarment.
 14. The wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 11, wherein said first fastener and said second fastener are taken from a group including buckles, clasps, hook and loop fasteners, buttons, snaps, and magnets.
 15. The wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 10, wherein said first fastener and said second fastener are taken from a group including buckles, clasps, hook and loop fasteners, buttons, snaps, and magnets.
 16. The wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 10, wherein said primary sleeve is a cooling belt.
 17. The wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 8, wherein said garment includes a plurality of attachment members that are positioned and in selective cooperation with one another so as to secure said garment to a person's torso.
 18. The wearable cooling apparatus as in claim 17, wherein said plurality of attachment members include a plurality of straps having hook and loop fasteners, respectively. 